• Eggymatrix@sh.itjust.works
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    17 hours ago

    The main point cryptobros are missing is that the economy is controlled by force, something you can experiece if you are sailing in the persian gulf these days.

    Even at the scale of a family, my taxes are collected once a year and if I don’t pay the nation comes collecting their due by force, via the law enforcement.

    All these cryptomoneys have the notable bug of not being controllable by the nations controllong their economy, so come a sufficient magnitude of value transfer they will be rendered illegal very fast. You ain’t getting paid with it, you ain’t buying food or or mortgages with it.

    You can buy drugs and killers with it though, which is nice if you are into that kind of thing.

    • Maeve@kbin.earth
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      17 hours ago

      Some places do pay with crypto and accept it as payment for legal goods, as well.

      • rainwall@piefed.social
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        15 hours ago

        Less than .00001% of transactions, maybe, mainly because bitcoin has hilarious transactions fees. It can easily cost you $8 to pay for a $1 stick of gum, and that transaction will still not clear for a dozen minutes. Its just non viable in the real world.

        Mostly you can change crypto to an actual currency. That’s just whatever.

        • Maeve@kbin.earth
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          15 hours ago

          Yes, business transactions are still negligible, but not impossible. I look for crypto to rise as the USD/GBP destabilize. I say this without holding any sort of crypto and I’m certainly not an economist (but look for commodities and paper products to skyrocket. Obviously, lifesaving medicine (not just pharmaceuticals), paper products, but kilo of salt.

          • rainwall@piefed.social
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            11 hours ago

            Crypto will not likely “rise” as the USD/etc takes a hit. Its not a hedging asset like gold, its purely a speculative gamble.

            It is often pitched as a hedge, but we have a decade of evidence now that shows it drops and rises with the stock market, except with even more volatility.

        • some_kind_of_guy@lemmy.world
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          12 hours ago

          The merchants I’ve used have given a discount, but I’m sure there are grifters who prey on the wobbly exchange rate and sheer amount of digits

    • boboliosisjones@feddit.nu
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      15 hours ago

      You can very easily tie your crypto to a debit card that works in any place that would take a VISA card and also with ATMs, so it is usable just like any other currency in that regard. Do not I am saying usable and not used, though.

      And under the hood it is of course converted to a regular ol’ currency and then paid using that.

    • toofpic@lemmy.world
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      15 hours ago

      Multiple crypto exchanges allow you to issue a card and pay for usual stuff. I don’t use one now because I don’t have savings in crypto, but I did buy groceries with BTC. They were actually traded to euros first at the moment of payment, but it didn’t require any additional steps from me.